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The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) Thompson Falls Woman’s Club announces the kickoff of the inaugural National Day of Service (NDS), spotlighting food insecurity and hunger in the United States. This year’s NDS is scheduled for Saturday, September 30, nationwide. GFWC clubs in 48 states are participating to help increase public awareness and to provide food resources to families in their communities.

As a part of their community service project, members of the Thompson Falls Woman’s Club (TFWC) will staff the Community Harvest Food Bank in Thompson Falls food bank so eligible residents who might not otherwise have access to the food bank when it is normally open. The food bank located off Preston Avenue will be open 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 30. The food bank is typically open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The inaugural GFWC National Day of Service is an exciting opportunity for our clubwomen to demonstrate their volunteer know-how,” said Debra Strahanoski, International GFWC President. “The GFWC tagline is ‘Living the Volunteer Spirit!’ which is the essence of this national public awareness campaign about hunger and food insecurity. It takes a village of concerned community leaders, public servants, and compassionate neighbors to solve hunger.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100% of U.S. counties are food insecure. It is important to distinguish the difference between food insecurity and hunger because many of us use the terms interchangeably. When a person suffers from hunger, it means they physically feel hungry and do not have access to food, whereas to be food insecure is an economic condition. An example would be an individual, parent, or caregiver having to choose between paying a utility bill over purchasing food to feed themselves, their family, or children.

In June, TFWC President Cathy Mills, who is also a board member for Community Harvest Food Bank, attended a Hunger Awareness Forumat the Montana Food Bank Network in Missoula. "It was a great time for learning, connecting with other local food banks in our area and collaborating," Mills stated. It was at that conference that Mills saw a need for TFWC to volunteer to open the food bank on a Saturday.

Mills also attended a panel discussion for Hunger, Nutrition, and Health: Addressing Food Insecurity during the 2023 GFWC Annual Convention held in Louisville, Kentucky. She gained information about the fundamentals of food insecurity and learned of ideas for ways the TFWC could help end them in our community.

One of the myths about food banks is people think that they are often serving a homeless population, but the truth is a lot of the folks that come to a food bank are working. And often, if someone is coming to the food bank, it is because they earn too much money to qualify for the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. These people are the working poor, and that’s not something a lot of people realize when they think about food banks and the charitable food system. The average household in Thompson Falls is within a poverty rate range of 16 to 18 percent.

For more information on GFWC National Day of Service activities taking place in Thompson Falls, contact Cathy Mills, President GFWC Thompson Falls Woman’s Club, at (406) 827-1974 or visit the TFWC Facebook page.